Imperfect Things
by xWithLoveMDx
Summary: The universe is governed by chaos, and messing with time and space can have drastic consequences. A certain demonic being is chewed up and spat out into an alternate timeline, one where no one holds any memory of him, and his thirst for ultimate power must be quenched by any means necessary. (Mephadow slow burn) (Human AU) Part 1 of ?.
1. Chapter 1

May 22nd, 201x.

Eight months after Solaris was erased from time, and all events caused by Solaris were erased along with it.

No one involved with those events hold any memories, just a vaguely haunting sense that they're forgetting something important. It's never enough to spark curiosity, it just tugs at the subconscious late at night. It's the faint drone of whispers when silence becomes too heavy.

But the extinguishing of the flame wasn't a perfect purge. Dimensions and timelines aren't linear in the way that the lifeforms on Earth understand them to be. They cross and collide and diverge in as many varied ways as the weather turns to storm or rain or a light breeze on a late spring day. They deposit debris. They create anomalies and false memories and erase whole world's, only to birth twenty more in the same cosmic instant.

And so we find another victim of this endlessly chaotic process, sitting against an elm, bursting with green leaves and rustling in the spring breeze. He is only half formed into something recognizable, his limbs disappearing into a black mist, as if an artist had smeared a watercolor painting. He watches as a leaf breaks off from a branch up above his head. It floats to the ground, resting in between a couple of sparse grass patches.

To say this being was confused would be an understatement. One moment he was fused with his other half, existing as Solaris, an experiment made to emulate the power and grandeur of a deity, worshipped by the people of Soleanna. The next moment, he was less than half of what he used to be. Weakened, broken, disoriented, and left with an aching, empty feeling.

He reaches down weakly and brushes some brittle leaves aside. He reaches up, his hands mere clouds of liquid smoke, and touches his face. It isn't an actual face. It's two sunken crevices in an ever crumbling mass. A residual memory of once having a form. He tries to will himself into something more concrete, but he is too weak. He doesn't have the energy.

"I have a name." He thinks.

"I… my name is… Mephiles."

Yes, that's right. His name is Mephiles. Memories flood back. He remembers his brief instant of glory. His plans falling into place, his merging with Iblis to form Solaris, the absolute power that had driven him mad and erased everything else but the desire to consume time and space endlessly.

The reality of his current state becomes all too real, and he slumps into an even more unshapely mass.

He has a lot of work to do to get back his strength.


	2. Chapter 2

Shadow skated through the Mystic Ruins, his tracker beeping every couple of seconds. He knew he was getting closer to his target.

Beep… beep… beep… beep-beep… beep-beep…

He slowed down to a fast-paced walk. The detector was tailored to tracking a specific type of machinery, whether it be functioning or not, built by a certain radical genius.

The beeping sped up until it reached a steady hum. He switched it off. He had arrived at a small stream. He frowned. The water was usually clear around these parts, but now it was streaked with an oily substance.

Bingo.

He walked up the small bank and spotted something lodged within the thick branches of a thicket. Red, glinting in the weak overcast light. He effortlessly pulled the limbs and branches away, revealing a large robot. It was slumped over. The lights were dark and the engine was silent. It had been deactivated, but in a highly concerning way. Lengths of ripped wire and scraps of metal littered the area around it. Oil leaked and soaked into the soil surrounding it. It was as if someone or something had intended to destroy it, but had either failed or given up halfway through the process. Shadow stepped closer. His frown was more pronounced than usual, and his mind was rapidly trying to draw conclusions but arriving at none.

"Omega… who would do this to you?"


	3. Chapter 3

Shadow leaned his back against the cold metal wall, his eyelids drooping. The hallway of the GUN base was too brightly lit. It was starting to give him a headache. He checked his phone for the fifth time that minute, and got slightly more irritated. Rouge hadn't returned any of his calls. His patience was wearing thin, and he was, frankly, starting to get bored standing out in a laboratory hallway.

His eyes widened at the sound of an automatic metal door sliding open. He stood to face it. A shorter woman walked out. Her forehead glistened with sweat, and her work clothes and pants were stained with black grease.

"How's he doing?" Shadow asked urgently. "Is he back online?"

The woman seemed slightly irritated, and had to hold back a scoff. She was the one who had made Shadow leave the room that they were repairing Omega in because he had apparently been causing a distraction by hovering so close to the workers. "Unfortunately, he's not. This is not an overnight fix."

"Do you have any idea when he'll be ready?" Shadow huffed. He was not a huge fan of this woman.

"It's hard to tell. Robotnik's machinery is complex and convoluted in a way we're just not used to." She took off her glasses, rubbing them in between the bottom of her shirt. "We're still figuring it all out."

"But you've been battling Robotnik for years!" Shadow snapped. "You've had plenty of time to study his work."

"Correction: you mutants have been battling him for years. When you smash his inventions to smithereens every time he makes something new, it makes it a little hard to continue our research, you know."

He folded his arms angrily. "Like I have anything to do with the meddling of Sonic." Shadow pointed towards the room. "And what about Omega? He hasn't been destroyed. You could have been studying him in case of an accident like this."

"Actually, we couldn't. Your friend there isn't technically a part of GUN. The only reason we have authorization to repair him is because we're interested in him as an asset," she smiled wryly, "and this repair finally gives a good long look into what Robotnik has up his sleeve. Part of the reason it's going to take awhile. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a life that doesn't revolve around behemoth killing machines. Unlike you."

As she walked away, Shadow silently fumed. He pulled out his phone. The sound of Rouge's voicemail greeted him again after a long session of ringing. He shook his head, then slid to the floor, suddenly realizing how tired he was.


	4. Chapter 4

The coastal sunset cast the water in a dark purplish glow under a deep red sky. This sectioned off portion of the beach was void of tourist life, save a lone bat lounging in a chair and occasionally glancing at a thick packet.

In exchange for taking an extended vacation, GUN had given her extensive paperwork and reading material to peruse. Of course, she was leaning toward the plan of putting it all off until the last minute.

As the horizon darkened, she stood up and stretched. She folded up her beach chair and tucked it under one arm, picking up the packet and the novel she had been skimming with her free hand.

As she got back to the hotel, she felt a mild sense of dread. She had left all of her electronics in the hotel room, and she knew she would have to spend at least an hour clearing out all of the back logged messages before she could let herself go to bed. Rouge's fears were validated as she opened the door and heard her phone loudly buzzing. She decided to use the restroom before retrieving it from the nightstand, letting it go to voicemail.

As she was washing her hands, she could faintly hear the buzzing begin again. She rolled her eyes, wondering if anyone she worked with understood what a vacation actually was, and dried her hands. She plopped down on the bed, grabbing the device and answering it without even glancing at who was even calling.

"This is Rouge."

"Why haven't you picked up?" The voice on the other end sounded irritated. "I've been trying to get a hold of you for hours."

"Shadow? Long time no talk, hon. What's up?" As she said this, she took the phone away from her ear and switched to speaker phone. She pulled up her missed call log and grimaced. He had called her about thirty times.

"I found Omega."

She sat up in surprise.

"You did? Where?"

"I'll explain once you get here. I'm at base 301, level 7."

"Oh no, mister." As much as she missed her teammate and wanted to support Shadow, the allure of the bed was making her limbs feel heavy. She sighed. "I'm on vacation until the day after tomorrow. You're going to just have to tell me what happened."

"Rouge…" His voice sounded slightly strained. It unnerved the bat.

"Shadow? Are you okay?" Rouge's heart started to race a little. "Did something... happen to him?"

"He'll be okay, but… you need to come. Now."

Rouge took a deep breath. The emotion in his voice was a little too thick, it suggested too much urgency. She shook her head, the mattress underneath her painfully soft and inviting.

"I'll be right there, okay?"

There was a pause. "Thank you."

After he hung up, Rouge sighed deeply. Omega had only been missing a week, and the only person who had seemed genuinely concerned about it was Shadow. Shadow was attached to the robot in a weird way. He was almost overprotective, like a concerned older brother would be about a reckless younger sibling. Rouge knew that Shadow wouldn't have called her like that if there wasn't something serious going on.

"You better be okay, Omega." Rouge whispered to herself.

Rouge arrived at the GUN headquarters, which wasn't actually too far from the beach. As she rode up in the elevator, she continued to wonder why Shadow's tone had bothered her so much. She tried not to think about it. She was probably imagining things.

The double doors slid open. Shadow was waiting outside.

"This better be worth it, Shadow. I still have sand in my shoes."

He gestured for her to follow. Rouge thought it odd that he didn't respond.

They walked down the hall and came to a heavily armored door. Shadow leaned into a retinal scanner, and the door slid open soundlessly. They stepped inside, and Rouge held back a gasp.

Omega's lifeless form was hooked up to a number of wires and hooks. The lights of his eyes were dark, and there was no familiar humming to indicate he was conscious. Most of his exterior had been taken off, exposing the intricate handiwork underneath.

"What happened, Shadow?"

His voice was clinical and without inflection. "I found him like this deep in the Mystic Ruins. It seemed like he was attacked by something."

"Do you think it was Robotnik?"

"One would assume, but…"

"But what?"

"I have this strange feeling that it wasn't the Doctor's doing. If he intended to destroy Omega, he would have done it much earlier." He stared at the robot broodingly. "I know there are no other known suspects, but the only part of his programming that is missing is the self-repair unit, which is why he's being manually repaired here-"

"And no one else would know how to extract that except Robotnik." Rouge interrupted. The sight of Omega like this was getting to her as well. No wonder Shadow had sounded so distressed.

The hedgehog furrowed his brow. "Or someone with access to that information… but either way, why would they only take the self-repair unit and leave him partially intact? He was left in a repairable state."

"Perhaps they thought he wasn't. Only Robotnik would know how to fully destroy him."

Shadow lightly touched one of Omega's metal hands, then pulled away. "I can't figure it, Rouge. There are too many strange things, too many things I feel like I should have answers for…"

"What are you trying to get at, Shadow?" She grabbed his arm. He looked up, and her suspicions were confirmed. "There's something you're not telling me."

He blinked. It looked like he was trying to find the exact words to describe his thoughts. He held eye contact, which was slightly abnormal. "There was something… off about the scene. Something that could not have been caused by the doctor."

"What was it?" Rouge tried not to look over at Omega. There was the threat of terror in her gut. She pushed it down.

"There was an unusual amount of residual chaos energy surrounding him. It's the kind of stuff left over only after I've performed chaos attacks, but I think… I think the energy was left intentionally, almost as a… warning."

"Wait, hold up." Rouge raised an eyebrow. "You can see chaos energy?"

"Not in a visual sense, but I can definitely tell when it's there."

"So whoever attacked him-"

"Was some sort of chaotic being, yes." Shadow paused, crossing his arms. "And there's another thing that disturbs me."

"What?"

Shadow looked away finally. He avoided letting his gaze rest on Omega once more. "The energy was… familiar to me. I don't know how, but I know that I've… felt it before."

"What does that mean?" Rouge whispered, as if speaking any louder would attract terrible unknowns.

"I don't know…"

"Did you tell anyone else about this?"

Shadow shook his head. "You're the first person I've told. I want to investigate this further before I get anyone else involved."

"So you want to keep the energy thing a secret for now?"

"Yes."

Rouge finally couldn't stop herself from looking over again. This was different than other times she had seen Omega deactivated. Her lips twitched slightly. "I don't like this, Shadow."

But the hedgehog was already on his way out. She took one last look at Omega, at the wires feeding in and out of his half disassembled form, then followed Shadow down the hall towards the elevator. As they waited for the doors to open, Shadow's calculating stare lay fixed straight ahead.

"What are you thinking, then? Do we have a plan yet?"

He shook his head as the doors slid open and they stepped inside. "Not particularly. I'm a little hesitant on how to move forward. Whoever did this is clearly powerful, enough to take down someone like Omega. If I go at it alone, I might be led into some sort of trap. However, if I bring in reinforcements..." he trailed off.

"...You're afraid others will get hurt." Rouge finished the thought for him. He didn't reply, only stepped out of the opening doors rather abruptly and headed towards the main exit to the building.

Rouge was becoming a little agitated. Shadow seemed all too eager to leave the base. "And where are you off to in a hurry?" She quipped, stepping out before the doors could close her in.

He stopped, swinging open the glass door and holding it, a signal for her to go out first. "Just want to get to planning. This mission isn't going to execute itself."

She made her way over. "I guess that's true." She realized it was probably better to leave the base. After seeing Omega, they both seemed to be on edge.

They were soon outside. The sun had set by now, and the flat desert landscape surrounding the GUN base was unnervingly dark. Electric fences towered over the looming concrete structure behind them, and guard stations were posted every 10 yards.

"You need a ride home?" Rouge offered. She clicked the unlock button on her car keys, and lights flashed in the distance, haunting across the empty parking lot.

"I'll take up that offer." They made their way across the parking lot, climbing into the dark blue Prius. Rouge had to use something discreet when on government business, but her main car was a pale pink Corvette.

Shadow pushed some leftover Chik Fil A onto the floor as Rouge tore out of the parking lot at a slightly ludicrous speed, only slowing down to allow the road block to raise at the gate.

As they sped down the interstate towards the distant glow of Station Square, Shadow glanced back at the dark monolith that was the GUN base.

"There's something else I didn't tell you. I didn't want to talk about it at the base, on account of all of the surveillance systems installed there."

Rouge raised an eyebrow, keeping her eyes on the road. "Oh?"

"Omega has been harboring a chaos emerald inside of him. I wanted to see if hiding one inside his storage compartment would mask its energy so it couldn't be detected by GUN."

"Did it work?"

"I tested multiple energy trackers on him, and he was able to mask it pretty well." Shadow's frown deepened. "But when I found Omega, the emerald was missing. That means whoever attacked Omega knew about it, or at least could detect it."

"Why would you want to do that?" Rouge probed. "Hide the emerald, I mean."

"Just as an experiment, I suppose."

Silence followed this reply. Rouge kept her hand on the gear stick, slowly tapping it as she considered this new information.

"You don't fully trust them, then?"

Shadow sighed. "It's... complicated."

"You know I have a complicated relationship with GUN, too." She smirked. "I'm an ex jewel thief, after all. The only reason I'm not in prison is because I'm much more valuable as an agent."

"That's actually part of my reasoning for keeping the emerald in Omega." Shadow leaned back in his chair. "GUN has use for me, clearly, but I have a growing suspicion that if I ever step out of line again, or suddenly become useless to them, they're going to turn on me. You might have some superhuman abilities, but I was designed as a weapon." He glanced down and seemed to realize he was clenching his fists. He slowly relaxed them.

"And so you think having a back up emerald is going to help you when the entire country declares war on you?"

"Well, maybe not. But it offered some... superficial comfort, I guess." He sighed. "And now whatever is out there has an emerald as well."

"We'll figure this out." Rouge assured him. "I'm sure whatever it is, we've faced worse."

For the first time that night, Shadow smiled. "You know what? I think you're right. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I'm on vacation, so nothing." Her tone became slightly teasing. "But I'm sure I can squeeze whatever you have in mind into my busy schedule."

"I want to find out whoever did this to Omega, and I want them to know how we feel about it."

The lights of the city were drawing closer now. The radio had been playing quietly in the background, but Rouge reached over and turned it up. An upbeat 80's ballad filled the empty spaces of the car. She shifted the gear, speeding up.

"Hell yeah, let's do it!"


	5. Chapter 5

Mephiles was sprawled out on the cold floor of a deep cave, the only sound the slow drops of condensation from the top of the cave. His half formed arms were outstretched above him, a chaos emerald hovering in between them.

The energy flowed through his being like blood being pumped. He could feel his strength returning, if only incrementally, but that was not his purpose for the moment.

He focused on the thought of fire, warmth. He focused on a deep, irrational desire for destruction. To feed on the disintegrating matter of whole worlds. He channeled the emotion this evoked in him, infused it with the new energy pulsing through him.

Then he wasn't in the cave anymore. He was in a white blank space. He was floating, slowly turning over and over in the bright white void. Then he came to a stop, and before him, appearing out of the milky haze, a writhing mass of flames.

"Ah, Iblis..." Mephiles crooned. "I've missed you, my brother."

Iblis merely continued to float in front of Mephiles. It couldn't really respond, not really. It had about as much self awareness as a common rodent, or even an insect. Its beady, reptilian green eyes, almost a mirror image of the demon in front of it, twitched slightly.

"I wonder where you are, Iblis." He mused to himself. "It seems unlikely that I can fuse with you now, in this space that doesn't really exist, but I thought it would at least give me a clue to your whereabouts."

The fiery demon opened its monstrous jaws and let out a deafening roar. Mephiles was back on the floor of the cave in an instant, cold and damp again. The emerald had fallen to the ground with a glass like clatter.

He was too weak to sustain a connection with Iblis for too long. He would need to regain a lot more strength, and he would need multiple emeralds.


	6. Chapter 6

"I think," Rouge was holding a small black device, her arm outstretched towards the thick underbrush of the forest. It was beeping rapidly, and the ice blue screen was lighting up rapidly, "we're getting something." She turned to Shadow, who was a couple of steps back. He was crouched down, one hand splayed out on the dirt. His eyes were closed in concentration.

"Yes. I feel it growing stronger." He stood up, brushing some dust and leaves off of his jeans.

The two had started their trek into the area of the Mystic Ruins where Omega had been found earlier that morning. It was now mid afternoon, the sun casting slanted rays through the emerald canopy of leaves above. They had veered off of the main trail hours ago at Shadow's insistence.

"And you're sure it's the same energy you felt on Omega?" Rouge asked as she recalibrated a setting on the energy tracker.

Shadow nodded. "Most definitely." He was staring into the distance. "It's just so bizarre. I can't place why or how this energy is so familiar to me."

Rouge smirked. "It's probably some dumb enemy we've battled in the past. If you can't remember them, then it clearly wasn't a very hard battle to win, right?"

"Hmph. Unlikely. But I think we'll find out soon enough." Shadow took a couple of steps as if to continue forward, and then he froze.

At a rapid rate, the air seemed to fill and crackle with energy. Even Rouge felt a shudder down her spine as the device went from a steady beeping to a continuous whine that grated on the eardrums.

"Watch out!" Shadow growled. He sprung forward, almost tackling Rouge. He caught her mid fall and then moved her behind him. There was a crashing sound in the branches directly above them. Leaves and bits of branches rained down on them.

In the spot where she had been standing a moment ago, a black cloud of viscous sludge seemed to be pouring down from an unknown source above and soaking into the ground. As it did so, black tendrils twisted and swirled out of the evergrowing puddle.

"What the hell is that?" Rouge whispered.

"I... I don't know. But I know it's the thing that damaged Omega." Shadow watched as the sludge moved closer to them. He pulled out an emerald, but before he could charge up an attack, he was temporarily stunned by what he saw.

The entity stopped about five feet in front of him. The sun was shining brightly through a gap in the trees directly onto Shadow and Rouge's backs, casting long shadows. The entity oozed into the space covered by Shadow's shadow. They stared in fascinated horror as the cast started to warp and produce a strange black mist. As it absorbed the rest of the shadow in some sort of incomprehensible warping of space-time, a figure rose out of the murky smoke. Shadow felt his chest tighten and his body seemed to shrivel. It was almost like something had sucked out the energy that coursed through his blood and had given it to the creature.

What stood in front of them was a twisted mirror image of Shadow, all of the colors and textures and features not quite right, completely nude and hunched over. Its skin was a sickly charcoal instead of dark brown, and where Shadow's hair was jet black with red streaked throughout, its hair was a matte grey streaked with an unnatural ice blue. Blue lips were parted in a twisted grin over too sharp teeth. The eyes were the worst physical feature. Inhuman, glasslike, slits for pupils, and a poisonous green that would spark fear even in someone like Shadow.

But none of the individual parts of this encounter affected Shadow as much as the sickening feeling that all of this felt too familiar. His head swam with the confusion. He knew he had never encountered a creature like this. He knew he had never looked into those eyes. But against all odds, he felt like he had. He stumbled back a step or two, and felt Rouge squeeze his arm. This was just enough to keep his knees from buckling beneath him.

The doppelganger, if you could even call it that, lifted a hand to his face, examining it with devilish glee. The nails were glass like and pointed. They looked like ice. He experimentally clenched his fist, then glanced back up at them.

"Hmph. If it works in one timeline, it works in another." His voice was deep and silky. Shadow was hit with another wave of disorientation as the creature continued. "Isn't that right, Shadow?"

Shadow broke away from Rouge's grip and sprinted at the creature. There was a blinding flash, and all he managed to do was stumble through empty air.

"Who are you?" Shadow hissed. He looked up, and saw that the creature was sitting in the crook of some branches above. "Why do you seem so familiar? And how the hell do you know my name?"

"Oh, we knew each other once." He gestured to Rouge, who seemed just as stunned as Shadow felt. "All three of us, actually. But that was several destroyed timelines ago."

"What does that even mean?" Shadow looked to Rouge. "Rouge, do you recognize him too?"

Rouge nodded. Her face was slightly ashen, and she seemed shaken. "I felt it right away."

"I suspected you two would forget me. No matter," the creature was starting to form a crackling ball of purple energy in the palm of his hand, "let me reintroduce myself."

He descended from the branch, touching down gracefully in between Shadow and Rouge. Despite his poise in flight, the rest of his movements were clunky, almost awkward, as if he wasn't used to being in a solid form that had limbs.

"My name is Mephiles the Dark. I suppose I should thank you, Shadow, for lending me your powers through your sha-" he was cut off. Mephiles was thrown against a tree, a chaos spear slicing into his form. The force was enough to splinter the tree. There was a deafening crack as the large trunk pitched forward and crashed through the thick of the forest, crushing Mephiles beneath it.

Rouge had flown out of the way, her metal wings unfolding and carrying her out of the path of the falling tree. She grabbed Shadow by the waist and flew him up to a nearby tree. They watched the space where Mephiles had just been moments ago. In mere seconds, a black ooze seeped out from underneath, coating the ground once more and then forming back into Mephiles. He swayed, eyeing Rouge and Shadow from below.

"You think you can stop me that easily?" He shouted. "I'm more powerful than you will ever know!"

Despite his bold words, he seemed unsteady. He took a step forward, and Shadow could tell that he had to struggle to stay standing. Shadow smiled wryly, glancing at Rouge. She raised an eyebrow. He looked back down.

"Come up here and prove it." Shadow shouted back.

Mephiles gritted his teeth and launched towards them, but Shadow was prepared. He rocketed himself downwards. The two collided, and there was a crackle of energy through the air like a thunderbolt. A low rumble echoed through the trees. Shadow skidded backwards on the balls of his feet, gouging deep gashes into the soft earth. Mephiles attempted the same thing, but tripped on a root and fell backwards. Shadow ran at him, prepping a chaos spear and aiming for Mephiles' face. He had pulled his other emerald out of his pocket, holding it in his other hand. He aimed the spear directly at the demon's nose, but a hand gripped his wrist mere inches away, and they locked eyes.

Shadow felt a shift in the energy that was permeating the air. The chaos spear that had been charging in his hand had been snuffed out by Mephiles' grip, which was an odd feeling. He felt anger, and frustration, and a strange sense of longing, of running out of time, but these weren't his emotions.

He continued to lock eyes with Mephiles, who still had an iron grip on his wrist, and time seemed to stand still. Bits of thought faded in and out of his mind, like a radio just out of range.

(Cocky little... just need to... hasn't changed... emerald...weak)

Both of them seemed unable to make a move. Shadow could tell that Mephiles was affected by whatever was happening as well. It was as if both of their energy fields had connected, like two circulatory systems that had merged and synced heartbeats.

Then time sped up again, a little too fast for Shadow, and the grip on his wrist tightened painfully. He was thrown overhead, slammed into the ground on his back. In one swift motion, Mephiles was above him. Shadow realized too late that he was still holding his red chaos emerald in his other hand, and that it was quickly being pried out.

He sat up. Mephiles was grinning, his blue lips stretched a little too wide, holding a chaos emerald in both palms. He tried to lunge at him, but he was still a little disoriented, and the demon was gone in a blinding flash of purple light.

"Chaos control!" Shadow growled. "The bastard knows chaos control!"

Rouge was already back down on the ground. Shadow felt a hand on his shoulder as she kneeled down next to him.

"What happened there? Was he playing some sort of mind trick on you?"

"No, I..." Shadow rubbed his pounding head. "It was strange. When we touched, it was like our energy was... connected. And I could hear bits of his thoughts, and feel his emotions."

"Is it because he took your shadow, or..." Rouge furrowed her brow. "whatever that was?"

"Maybe?"

"Did you learn anything from reading his mind?"

"No. It was too broken up." He was staring ahead, then he whipped his head around to look at her. "You said he seemed familiar too?"

"Yeah, vaguely. But not in any specific way."

Shadow gingerly started to stand up. "He mentioned something about a destroyed timeline. I guess... he's an enemy from a past that isn't even our own. Either way, he has two emeralds now, and seems to have gained some of my own powers as well."

"Doesn't mean we can't take him," Rouge pointed out. "He did flee the scene pretty quickly. Makes me suspect he's a coward."

"Cowards play dirty," Shadow muttered bitterly. He then seemed to deflate a little. "We're going to have to reassess. I just wish we had Omega back. I always forget how good it feels to have him as back up."

"We can get back up, easy."

"I don't want GUN to get involved in this any further. They're already messing up Omega's repairs."

"We don't need them, per say." Rouge assured. She was typing something into her phone. "I'm texting Sonic right now."

Shadow pursed his lips, remaining silent.

She looked up, noticing his contempt. "He would be helpful, you know."

"Hmph." He grunted. "Honestly, I'd rather figure this out myself. I'm the only one who can sense his energy and somewhat track it."

"Really, Shadow?" Rouge raised an eyebrow. " I thought we talked about this. You can't keep brushing me off when things get serious. Plus, I got my own tracker. It was a lot more accurate than your 'instinct.'"

He looked up at her, then nodded slowly. "Okay... you're right. But I really don't want to get that blue haired punk involved."

Rouge's phone buzzed, and she scanned the screen. "Well, either way, it's going to happen. We're meeting up at his house in an hour."

"Sonic's insufferable," Shadow groaned, "why would you want someone like that to be involved?"

"He's got the extra power we need." Rouge asserted. "Plus, I know you hate to admit it, but you guys get along a lot better than you think. It's just ridiculous that you play the Stoic Loner card all of the time when that's not even who you are anymore!"

Shadow continued to pout as they made their way back to the main trail of the forest.

"Besides, maybe that kid Tails can take a look at Omega and fix him up better than GUN can."


	7. Chapter 7

Mephiles ran his dry tongue over his newly formed teeth. He blinked, feeling the eyelids slide up and down. He missed having a solid form. Everything was so much more organized, he could channel his power better. Things were clearer, his relationship with his surroundings more concrete and manageable.

He was sitting on the rooftop of a skyscraper in the heart of Station Square, feeling the cold wind bracing against his skin.

He had stolen clothes not too long ago from the stock rooms of a mall and stored them in the cave he was hiding out in. His appearance was already jarring enough, he didn't want to attract more suspicion by being out in public in the nude. Unlike the last time he had stolen Shadow's form, in the old timeline, he took some care in selecting his outfits. If he was going to become Solaris again and eventually devour the entire universe, he figured he might as well do it in style.

It was his own personal way to up his damaged ego. After his short battle with Shadow, he realized that even with an emerald and some of Shadow's energy, the Ultimate Lifeform was still a formidable opponent. And once GUN got that robot back online, it would be even more difficult to avoid having his plans foiled. He would just have to keep searching for more emeralds and working on gaining his full power again.

Another hang up he had was the increased chaotic connection that he had developed with Shadow by taking his powers. He had to avoid getting too close if he didn't want a repeat of earlier today. He could tell that Shadow had heard bits and pieces of his thoughts. Mephiles could hear Shadow's as well, but they weren't particularly useful.

Just all of the same old questions and confused cyclical mantras repeated in the face of something slightly incomprehensible. In this case, an encounter with something that really didn't belong in the current timeline.

Mephiles reached into his pocket and pulled out his chaos emerald, casually tossing it up into the air and catching it. He had to make another attempt at summoning Iblis, but he was still vulnerable. His energy trail was easier to track now.

He would have to make sure that robot didn't get back online.


	8. Chapter 8

"So what do you think Rouge was talking about?" Tails asked. He was tinkering with some sort of intricate, clock like device on the kitchen table. Sonic was pacing around the living room, seemingly anxious for Shadow and Rouge to arrive.

"Not sure. All she said was that she had a 'project' that her and Shadow needed help with." Sonic sat on the top of the couch, then fell backwards onto the cushions, hanging upside down. "It must be important. I feel like Shadow never wants to ask for help."

"They also basically have access to the entirety of GUN." Tails added. He surveyed the tools laid out before him, then picked a smaller screwdriver. "Seems weird they would want us to get involved in anything."

Before Sonic could respond, he heard the front door open.

"Is that Amy or Rouge?" Sonic called.

Amy poked her head around the corner of the hallway. "Just me and Knuckles. They're not here yet?"

"Not yet," Tails said. "They should be here any minute."

Amy unstrapped the giant hammer from her back and set it on the ground, plopping herself next to Sonic on the couch. Knuckles entered in after her, taking a seat in the armchair across. "What exactly are we helping them with again?"

"Who knows? Either way, I'm ready for it. It's been boring around here." Amy said, resting her palm on the handle of her hammer.

There was a knock on the door.

"Just come in, guys!" Sonic shouted, righting himself on the couch. "It's open."

The sound of the front door swinging open and closing echoed down the hall, and Shadow and Rouge appeared in the entrance to the living room.

"Well, hello, everyone." Rouge greeted. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"I guess." Sonic said, standing up. "So, what's this 'project' all about?"

"You may want to sit down for this one." Rouge commented, taking a seat in the other armchair next to Knuckles. "It's quite a story."

As Rouge explained, Shadow kept his distance, choosing to stand in the corner of the living room, silently judging the books on the shelf. He only interrupted Rouge once or twice to correct her on something, but was otherwise silent.

As she finished up, Sonic was nodding. "So you just wanted some back up in defeating this Mephiles character?"

"Basically." Rouge said. She turned to Tails. "I also would like it if you could take a look at Omega. GUN's tech team is just not cutting it for us, and I know you're more familiar with Eggman's technology than they are."

"Yeah, I can take a look." Tails nodded.

"We haven't gotten a lot of action the past couple of months. Especially after GUN started taking over keeping Eggman at bay." Sonic said. "It'll be great to finally have something to do."

"Excuse me?" Shadow piped up from the corner.

Rouge had furrowed her brow at this comment as well in confusion. "What did you say about GUN?"

"I thought you two would have known." Amy added. "GUN told us to stop fighting Eggman. Said they were going to take care of him from now on."

Shadow and Rouge exchanged a glance, then Shadow sighed. "Well, that's a problem to be dealt with another day."

"You excited to work together again, Shadow?" Sonic jeered playfully.

He glanced at Sonic. "It wasn't my choice to have you guys involved. Mephiles is incredibly dangerous and unpredictable. This isn't going to be like light grinding some Eggbots. From what I can tell, he's basically a demigod."

"Doesn't sound like anything we haven't dealt with before." Knuckles said.

"We'll see about that." Shadow muttered.

Rouge leaned forward in her chair. "I agree with Knuckles. He's definitely getting stronger, he already has two emeralds in his possession, but he has a lot of the same moves as Shadow does. He's just more..." she waved her hand in the air, as if looking for the right descriptor, "liquid-y."

Shadow couldn't help but smile wryly at that.

"As long as we strategize, we'll be able to take him." She pointed at Tails. "You and I are going to go to the base where Omega is and figure out how to repair him. Maybe we could even convince them to let us take him back to your lab. And the rest of you are going to track him down and somehow subdue him."

"But how are we going to keep him contained?" Amy pointed out. "If he's a demigod, can he even be killed?"

"That we're not sure of." Shadow said. "But the only way I'm going to learn his weaknesses is to battle him. I say we take back the emeralds and weaken him first, at the very least. Then we can figure out how to contain him."

"Actually, I was thinking we could get the Master Emerald involved." Rouge posited to Knuckles. "Maybe trap him in a temporary chaos control field, or even seal him inside until we figure out what to do with him."

Knuckles groaned. "The Master Emerald hasn't been shattered or even taken off of the island in a very long time. I'd like to keep it that way by not getting it involved."

"What if we lured him to Angel Island? That way if it does shatter, it'll be easier to recover and return."

Knuckles shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "But.. luring him there would increase the chances of him utilizing the power of the Master Emerald."

Shadow nodded. "That might just be a risk we have to take. If we consider that we will also have access to its power, then that is most likely going to be our best option."

"We could probably even go super for a bit." Sonic said, eyeing Shadow. "Just like old times, right?"

"The Master Emeralds power alone is unreliable to use for a super form." Shadow said, rolling his eyes. "You of all people should know that. If anything, it'll probably just knock you out after a couple of minutes. Not that I would have a problem with that. It would get you out of my way."

"Y'know, Shadow, we're choosing to help you." Amy said scoldingly. "The least you can do is be at least a little appreciative."

"Ah, Ames, you know he doesn't mean it. We're just having a little fun." Sonic put his hands behind his head casually. "So, is this our plan? How are we going to lure this creep out to the island?"

"Well, I can detect his energy, and he can detect mine somewhat. So maybe if I do a couple of chaos blasts or something similar on the island, he'll know I'm there."

"I don't think he'll really want to find you, Shadow." Rouge said. "You're his number one threat."

"I've got two chaos emeralds." Amy offered. "Isn't that what he's after?"

"Oh, hell yeah." Sonic pulled one out as well. "We'll just lure him out with chaos emeralds."

"We could project their energy field using the Master Emerald." Knuckles chimed in. "I could probably manipulate it to make it seem like there are more emeralds than there actually are."

"Then we could hide in wait and ambush him from all sides." Shadow offered.

"Alright, are we agreed on the plan?" Rouge asked, glancing around the room. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"We can take the Tornado, Rouge." Tails offered. "It'll be fast. That way we can quickly transport Omega."

"Sounds good." Rouge stood up. "Be careful, guys. We have no idea how powerful Mephiles actually is. If he gets the upper hand, there's no telling what could happen."

"Well, we just won't let that happen, then." Sonic said smugly. "You guys ready to go?"

"Hmph. Don't get cocky." Shadow responded. He turned to Rouge. They locked eyes, and Rouge could see that Shadow was feeling slightly uneasy. "We'll update you guys on how it goes."

"As will we. Let's move out."


	9. Chapter 9

Tails and Rouge were standing at the back of the house in front of a white garage door, faded from dirt and age. A long paved driveway stretched in front of it. Tails reached down, grunting as he pulled the door open. Inside sat a small blue and yellow biplane, the fabled Tornado.

"Are you sure GUN is going to be okay with us just going into the base and taking Omega?" Tails asked.

"They're going to have to be." She said. Rouge walked over and hoisted herself up, climbing into the passenger seat. "He's not their property. In fact, it took a lot for Shadow to convince them to help fix him in the first place. I'm sure they'll be more than happy to hand him over."

Tails climbed into the drivers side. He passed Rouge a helmet and a pair of goggles. "Why didn't you just come to me in the first place, then?"

"If it was up to me, we would have. But Shadow found him first." She fastened her seat belt.

"That checks out."

The engine roared to life, the propellers on each end spinning furiously. They sped out of the garage and took off into the air, ascending rapidly. Tails leveled out the plane and started to cruise over the city, wind whipping their hair.

"Y'know, I don't think I've ever ridden in this before." Rouge shouted over the noise of the engine.

"It's cool, right?"

Rouge stared out over the landscape, taking it all in. It was different than being in a regular airplane. The wind was bracing, numbing her nose and ears. She tried to enjoy the view, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Part of her felt that they were perhaps rushing too blindly into battle with Mephiles. Shadow had only had one encounter with him, and there was no way to tell if the demon had found more emeralds, or was just getting more powerful in general. She shuddered, hoping that things worked out according to plan.

They touched down about a quarter of a mile from the base. As tails powered down the engine and climbed out, Rouge slowly took off her helmet.

"Tails. Are you worried?"

He looked back at her, an eyebrow raised. "I don't know. Should I be? You know more about this guy than I do."

"I really don't know much, to be honest." She climbed out of the plane and led the way. "We've only encountered him once."

"Did he win that fight?"

"He ran away pretty quickly, actually." They approached the entrance to the base, and Rouge pressed her hand to the scanner. A green light turned on, unlocking the thick metal door. "But just because he's a coward doesn't mean he isn't dangerous."

"I'm sure it'll be fine." Tails reassured. "Those four together are a powerhouse of fighting ability. Mephiles is gonna see what he's up against and he's probably gonna run again instead of fight."

"I guess it's the uncertainty about how it's going to shake out that's getting to me." Rouge mused. She blinked. "I guess there's no use worrying about it."

They were almost to the room where Omega was being held. They were walking down a long white hallway when Tails spoke up.

"Hey, I just wanted to ask." He paused. "I don't want to sound rude, but what exactly is Shadow's deal?"

"Are you referring to how off putting he can be?" She asked, activating another hand print scanner.

He blushed slightly. "I... well, yeah. I guess. He just seems to hate all of us for no reason. I mean, except for you, and Omega I guess."

"Well, I can't speak for him, but I think he's just stubborn and doesn't want to accept that he needs other people." She furrowed her brow. "He thinks he can do everything on his own, that he can function without any friends or allies, but I think he's realizing more and more that he can't, and it's frustrating for him."

"I guess that makes sense." Tails said, nodding. "Again, um... sorry if that sounded rude. I've just been wondering for… years, I guess."

"Nah, it's just the truth. I think he'll get over it eventually."

The metal door slid open and the two stepped inside. The hulking figure of Omega's lifeless metal body loomed before them, all sorts of wires and tools spread out around him in a haphazard fashion.

"Wow, he's really damaged." Tails remarked, looking the lifeless robot up and down. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of his functionality was permanently destroyed."

Rouge tried not to let that comment increase her anxiety. "He usually self-repairs, but I guess his self-repair unit was ripped out."

"Well, Mephiles must be pretty powerful, then." Tails had been fidgeting here and there with some of Omega's exposed hardware. He glanced back at her, a hint of worry in his eyes. "I mean, wasn't Omega created to, you know, contain Shadow?"

Rouge could feel her palms break out in a nervous sweat. She shrugged, trying to play it cool. "Whatever. Let's just get him out of here."

Before Tails could respond, however, there was a bright flash of light. His jaw dropped, and suddenly Rouge was too terrified to turn around and find out what he was gaping at.

"Oh, what a surprise. Some mortal nuisances are here." A deep, vaguely familiar voice said. Slowly, she turned, and her stomach dropped. Hovering in the center of the metal room was Mephiles, his green eyes glowing, his mouth twisted into an emotionless smile.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Rouge whispered. Her mind raced through the possibilities. Did the master emerald plan not work? Were they all dead and he was here to finish the job? "What did you do to them?"

"I'm here to take care of some unfinished business I have with this deplorable robot." He floated forward so that he was face to face with Rouge. "As for what I did with 'them,' I can assure you, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Rouge would have felt relief, but the sight of Mephiles up close was enough to make her knees wobbly. Physically, his resemblance to Shadow was uncanny, but everything about it was off. His features were too jagged, his eyes too lifeless. She clenched her jaw. "You can't hurt Omega. I won't let you."

"Rouge…" Tails whispered urgently. "Don't provoke him. He's clearly unstable."

Mephiles tilted his head to look at the teenager behind her. "I'm sorry, did anyone ask for your opinion?"

The agent flinched as Mephiles rose into the air and sent a blast of energy straight into Tails. He flew through the air, crashing into the far wall and crumpling to the floor in a heap.

"Tails!" Rouge shouted. She tried to run towards his unmoving body, but she seized up midstep, frozen in space. She tried to move, but could only tense her muscles. The hairs on the back of her neck raised as she felt a presence approach from behind.

"You're not going anywhere. Once I'm finished with you and Shadow and this useless machine, there will be nothing standing in my way."

She tried to speak, but her jaw was frozen in a perpetual silent scream. All she could do was shut her eyes and wait for the final blow, but it never came.

Rouge fell to the floor, the chaotic bonds on her limbs broken. She looked up to see Mephiles in a sort of trance-like state.

"The emeralds… they're all in one place, huh?" He looked down at Rouge, and smiled mockingly. "Seems like a trap to me."

Her head was pounding with anxiety as she tried to catch her breath. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh yes, I'm sure." The demon charged up a compact ball of purple energy, crackling and glowing, and hurled it at Rouge. Her body jolted in searing pain as she was tossed across the room. "Trap or not, I'm always up for a challenge. But I'll be back for you three later, I promise you that." And with that comment, he was gone in another bright flash of light.


	10. Chapter 10

Shadow watched as Knuckles placed his hands on the Master Emerald and closed his eyes. The four of them had used chaos control to get to Angel Island, and now Knuckles was attempting to increase the reach of the chaos emeralds to lure Mephiles in.

Sonic and Amy were sitting against a pillar a couple of feet away, also watching intently.

"You think this is going to actually work?" Amy asked under her breath. There was a nervous tension between all of them. Something about this endeavor had suddenly become daunting.

"I think so." Shadow said. "The Master Emerald is going to make it seem like the rest of the emeralds are here, instead of just three. There's no way he can resist that."

"Do we even know why this guy wants all of the emeralds?" Sonic asked. "What's his motive?"

"I suspect he's power hungry." Shadow glanced at Knuckles, who was still silently muttering prayers. The giant green stone was starting to glow from within, and Shadow could feel the air become alive with crackling energy. He remembered how he had felt when he had connected with Mephiles. The longing, the frustration. There was even a hint of something akin to sadness. It made Shadow wonder what the demon could possibly want out of all of this.

Knuckles leaned forward, pressing his forehead to the cold surface as it continued to glow brighter. The chaos emeralds that had been placed on the ground started to glow as well. They rose into the air, casting multicolored lights across the grey stone beneath it.

Shadow winced as a sudden burst of energy almost knocked him over. He glanced over and saw that Sonic and Amy were both affected as well. They were clutching their heads and grimacing.

"Geez, it's really blasting that, isn't it?" Sonic yelled.

"Get ready." Shadow said through gritted teeth. "He's going to show up any moment."

Knuckles continued to press his head against the emerald. He grunted. "He better. I can't keep this going much longer."

Amy's eyes widened as she stared at something above them. "You won't have to, Knuckles."

They all looked up. Above them floated Mephiles, his mouth twisted into an unnaturally wide grin.

"What a surprise!" He lowered himself down, surveying the four of them with an amused expression on his face. "Is this... an ambush, perhaps?"

"Hell yeah, you creep!" Sonic shouted. He raced forward, instantly becoming a blur, and slammed into Mephiles. The demon was pushed upward by the force, but was otherwise unfazed. He caught Sonic before he could fall back to the ground, wrapping his arms around his torso. He squirmed against his iron grip, but couldn't break free.

Shadow felt his wrist buzz. Rouge's voice emanated from the tiny speaker.

"Shadow, come in. Mephiles is on his way there, and he's way more dangerous than we thought! Get everyone away now! You guys won't be able to take him!"

Mephiles chuckled mockingly. "Is this what you consider reinforcement, Shadow?" He rose higher into the air at an alarming rate, and then plunged downward, still holding Sonic tight. They slammed into the grass at the bottom of the altar, creating a sizable crater. The boom echoed across the island.

"Sonic!" Amy shouted, running down the steps. Shadow ran after her, his heart starting to race. This was already getting off to a bad start.

They approached the crater as Mephiles climbed out of it, nonchalantly dusting himself off. "Don't worry, Shadow. I'll save you for last."

"Big mistake." Shadow growled. He had already charged up a chaos spear, and he threw it full force into Mephiles. The demon went flying backwards, crashing into a nearby pillar.

"Sonic, are you conscious?" Shadow shouted into the crater. Dust was still clearing, and it was hard to judge his condition.

"Yeah." A hand emerged from the cloud, and Sonic pulled himself out. He was coated in a thick layer of dirt. "I'm a little bruised, but I can still fight."

Amy brandished her hammer and ran at Mephiles, who was swaying slightly from the blow he had received. She swung, but the demon dodged easily and grabbed the handle. He lifted the hammer before she could let go and used it to slam her into the ground.

Shadow stared, his eyes wide. "He's going to kill you guys," he whispered to himself.

A voice sounded in his head, as clear as if he was wearing headphones. "The less you struggle, the more likely I'll let them live."

Shadow felt the connection form again between him and Mephiles. The demon was keeping his roaming thoughts to himself, but had somehow figured out how to telepathically communicate.

"I don't trust that." Shadow said out loud.

"Suit yourself." The voice responded. Mephiles turned away from Amy and rocketed towards Sonic. Shadow sped over and pushed Sonic out of the way, taking the full force of the blow. He was slammed into the base of the altar, stone crumbling around them both. Shadow tried to land a couple of punches, but Mephiles suddenly wasn't on top of him. He scrambled out of the rubble and felt his stomach drop. Knuckles had dragged Mephiles off of Shadow, but was now struggling as Mephiles held him still.

"Well, it's been fun playing around." Mephiles tightened his grip on Knuckles. He ducked, spinning gracefully, as if he was dancing, in response to a sneak attack from Amy with her hammer. He threw Knuckles on the ground. "But I must get back to business."

Mephiles raised his arms. He flashed a bright white, and suddenly his form was somehow more horrifying than before.

His skin was now a dark shade of blue, his hair an electric teal. His hands were skeletal, and instead of nails, his fingers just ended in crystalline claws. He opened his eyes, and the whites were now a bright red, the poison green of his iris even more pronounced.

Rising into the air, he sent out a shockwave of raw power. It hit Shadow like a truck, and he fell to the ground, gasping. He could hardly move, he was in so much pain. He looked up, and saw that the other three had been knocked out cold. He crawled over to Knuckles, who was the closest, and pressed a hand to his chest. The breathing was shallow, but it reassured Shadow that the blast hadn't killed anyone.

"I have to say, Shadow, your mortal friends put up quite the fight." Mephiles smiled down at him. "This has been quite entertaining."

"The fight isn't over." Shadow growled, getting up. The pain was already wearing off.

"Hm, I think it is." Mephiles replied in a snarky tone. He flew up to the top of the altar, disappearing from view. Shadow gritted his teeth and hurried up after him. When he reached the top, he realized that Mephiles was holding all of the emeralds in his arms and standing on top of the Master Emerald.

"Looking for these?" Mephiles released the emeralds, and they started to orbit around him. Shadow ran at the demon, reaching to grab them out of the air, but was thrown back by a heavy force field.

Shadow watched as the emeralds spun faster, and a bright silvery light started to surround and engulf Mephiles. A beam of pure energy shot straight upwards, disappearing into the clouds above.

Shadow took a deep breath. He concentrated all of his power, steeled himself, and then ran forward towards the quickly forming orb of light. He reached forward, almost as if he was about to dive into water, and plunged in.

The air around him became thick and unbreathable. He tried to gasp, but found he could barely move. He floated through pitch black space, and then suddenly he was laying down on a solid surface.

All around him was blank white except for the small figure standing in the center. It was Mephiles. Black, wispy tentacles were sprouting from his back and arms, and his eyes were opaque and glowing.

Shadow lunged forward. He tried to charge up a chaos blast, but his body seemed to constrict and tighten. He stopped trying to channel his power, and his body relaxed again. He slammed himself into Mephiles, but as soon as they made contact, everything went black again.

Images barraged Shadow's mind, memories, feelings, all of it alien and unfamiliar and not his own.

He remembered being in a capsule, but not any he had been in before. He remembered feeling a lot more whole, and then suddenly being ripped in half. There was years of darkness, soul crushing darkness, where nothing but negative energy stewed and festered. He saw himself from another pair of eyes, standing in front of him, the source of his hatred, the source of his pain.

"I'm the source of your pain." Shadow felt a small part of him say, drowned out by the barrage of memories. "I'm living your memories, aren't I?"

"Get out!" A horrifyingly gravelly voice screeched. It was one of the most inhuman things Shadow had ever heard. It shook him to his core. He reached up and touched his face, and suddenly he was staring into Mephiles' eyes, and it was like looking in a mirror.

"Get out of my head!" Mephiles screeched again.

"I don't know how." Shadow whispered. He felt like he was disintegrating, like every bit of him was breaking off and melting into the thick abyss of memory and emotion.

Mephiles stared at Shadow, then he smirked, as if something enlightening had struck him. "You know what? I could use your life force. My summoning spell isn't quite working without all of the emeralds." He grabbed Shadow, pulling him close into a sort of embrace. He instantly felt weaker as every muscle in his body was painfully drained of energy.

"You're... summoning Iblis." Shadow mumbled. He was starting to slide down, but Mephiles just tightened his grip. Wind seemed to whip around them, and streaks of bright light started to zip around them. "Iblis is... our other half. We must get Iblis back. I must be with Iblis again. I must be... Solaris. To rid the universe of... imperfection."

As Shadow spoke, Mephiles seemed to have been lulled back into a trance. The area around them was becoming increasingly warm, and glowed with a dull orange aura.

"Iblis is almost here." They both breathed in unison.

"Shadow!"

A familiar voice cut through the haze. Shadow blinked, and he felt hands on his shoulders.

"Shadow! We gotta get out of here."

He realized that his arms were now wrapped around Mephiles as well, anchoring him even more firmly in place. His head swam. His only thought in that moment was summoning Iblis, was providing power to summon Iblis...

"Shadow! Snap out of it! You're only giving him more power."

"Rouge?" He blinked. He vaguely realized what he was doing, but not enough to stop himself. "Rouge... I need to become Solaris..."

"No! Stop! You're Shadow, and that's all you need to be right now." He could feel her tugging on him. If he could just will his muscles to loosen then maybe she could pry him free.

"I don't know who I am anymore." He felt himself saying. He was losing. She was losing. He could no longer feel her gripping his shoulders. He was soon staring at himself in Mephiles' body, and the only thought was the anticipation of being Solaris again.

"Shadow? Shadow!"

It was so faint now. Something stirred in him. A memory. Of a normal day, awhile ago. It was raining. There was only one umbrella. But her coat was expensive.

Her coat was expensive, brand new. She had just bought it.

"Here..." He felt himself mouthing. "Use this."

"What's... what's happening?" He mouthed again, but this time it was angry. "Why this? Why is this my thought right now?"

The umbrella was black and blue.

"We can both squeeze under."

"Rouge..." He mouthed. It was his mouth. He had let go of Mephiles. "Rouge, we need... to go."

Shadow felt energy flow back into him until it seemed like he was about to burst. Mephiles fell to the ground.

The demon's eyes became clear again, and he opened his mouth to scream, but it never came. Instead, their surroundings collapsed all at once, and a blinding light engulfed the three figures.

Angel Island was unrecognizable. The foliage had been burned away completely, only leaving a fine ash behind. The altar that had held the Master Emerald had crumbled, parts of it ground down to sand.

Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy peaked out from behind a broken pillar, their hair singed and their muscles aching.

"Holy shit." Amy breathed.

Floating just above the ruined altar was Shadow, his skin glowing gold. He held Rouge in his arms, who was completely limp. He flew over to the three of them and gingerly set Rouge down.

"Please watch her for a bit. I still have to take care of this fucking piece of shit."

And with that, he made a beeline back to the ruins.

He touched down near the top, standing above a smoking heap of black sludge.

"Well, we just learned a lot about each other, didn't we?" Shadow remarked, folding his arms. His head still swam somewhat with all of the new memories and information, none of them his own. And yet, he understood his place in all of it. A version of him that wasn't quite him, one from another timeline, a timeline that no longer existed.

A low, guttural growl emitted from the seething mass. A tendril shot out towards Shadow, aiming for his eyes, but Shadow dodged it and slammed his foot into the goo. The smallest whimper of pain followed the blow.

"I understand why you want to be Solaris again." Shadow said. "What I don't understand is why you think the entire universe needs to be purged."

"It's imperfect." Mephiles hissed. "I'll recreate it to be... perfect. In my own image. I'm a God. This is what I was made for."

"If it's in your own image, it will be imperfect." He got down on one knee, looking at Mephiles in what he hoped was his eyes. "Then you will end up having to destroy yourself. Your desires are unattainable and needlessly destructive."

"I don't care!" Mephiles screamed. He writhed, slamming his tentacles down and sending bits of stone flying into the air. "I just want to be Solaris again."

"Well, I made a vow to protect this world, so I could never let that happen."

"You're so goddam weak! You allow these mortals to brainwash you into caring, into not realizing your full potential."

"I haven't run away from a fight yet." Shadow stated calmly. "You've done nothing but run. I am strong because I allow myself to care, even though it might hurt me. Now, I'm going to offer you one chance. You could either accept that this is the timeline you're stuck in, and allow me to help you find a place in this world, or," he stood up, "I can have GUN make a new scepter, one way more powerful than the one you used to be trapped in, and you'll live in darkness forever."

Mephiles stopped writhing, remaining still. The black sludge started to swirl and become black smoke, and Shadow was staring into dead green eyes again. He stuck out his hand.

Shadow reached out and shook it firmly. "Glad you came aro-" He was interrupted as he was thrown over Mephiles' shoulder and slammed into the ground. Before Shadow knew it, the demon was gone in a bright flash of light.

He stood up. He felt his super form fading, and heard the sound of footsteps running toward him.

"He got away?" Knuckles exclaimed. He was carrying Rouge, who was still passed out cold.

Shadow just stared ahead, then he looked back at them. "Yes, but he's very weak now. It'll take him awhile to become a threat again." He realized his throat felt thick, and he reached up, resting a hand on his neck.

"Dude, are you... okay?" Sonic asked awkwardly.

He narrowed his eyes. "Clearly, I'm fine. It's you guys who look a little worse for wear."

"Shadow, you're... do you know you're crying?" Amy ventured.

Shadow's eyes widened. He moved his hand up to his chin, and felt drops of water falling down. He looked away and wiped at his eyes, but new tears were still streaming down his face. He could feel his face get hot with embarrassment. How could he not have noticed he was crying?

"That's not... important." He pointed at Knuckles. "Give me Rouge. I'm going to get her to a hospital."

He nodded, handing her over. Shadow looked down at her, seeing droplets of water land on her cheeks. He stared at the people in front of him.

"Hang on to me, guys. You probably all need to go to the hospital, too."

They all obliged, and Shadow channeled chaos control, the six of them disappearing in a flash of white light.


End file.
